Entries for the 2016 awards are now being accepted and full details can be found below.

FOW’s Awards for Asia are now in their fourth year. Each year we recognise the pioneers of the Asian derivatives markets from software vendors to brokers.

Judging process

FOW Awards are judged by a panel of industry experts drawn from across the market in a range of disciplines.

FOW’s editorial team draws up the shortlist based on eligible entries and then sends out the awards for review by the judges.

Each judge then rates the awards in order of their preference and the results are calculated on a point-based system.

To ensure the integrity of the awards process, FOW has no influence in the judging process.

Last year’s winners

For a list of last year’s winners, click here.

The awards process

Entries for the awards will be accepted up to June 17, 2016.

We will announce the shortlist on June 24, 2016.

The full list of the awards being considered for 2016 is below. 

Entries should be made by downloading and completing the entry form and sending to awardsfow@fow.com.

The deadline for entries is June 17.

The winners will be unveiled at the Awards for Asia Gala Dinner on 22 September, 2016 at The Intercontinental Hotel in Singapore. 

For a full list of entry rules and tips, see below.

The Awards

Exchanges and CCPs

ASIAN EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be an exchange from Asia, the Middle East or Australasia that has set itself apart from the other exchanges across the continent during the year. The exchange will be a pioneer in the market and have demonstrated excellence in everything from contract launches to technology.

EMERGING EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a recently launched exchange or an exchange from an emerging market within Asia, the Middle East or Australasia that can demonstrate tangible innovations and growth during the period. This could include contract growth, revenue/profit growth or the development of new facilities or services. 

BEST TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION BY AN EXCHANGE

The winner of this category will have introduced a new technology during the entry period that has brought something new to the market or automated a process in an innovative way.

CLEARINGHOUSE OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be an Asian clearinghouse that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. This could include volume growth, revenue/profit growth or the development of new facilities or services.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR FOR ASIA

The winner of this category will be an exchange based outside Asia that has launched products or services for the Asian market during the judging period. 

MOST INNOVATIVE NEW CONTRACT

Subcategories:

- Equities

- Interest rates

- Commodities

- Currency 

The winner of each sub-category will be an exchange or trading venue that has launched a contract that filled a market need in a novel and innovative way. Contract performance will be taken into account but will not be the sole basis of the judges’ decision.

Banks and brokers

BANK OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a bank that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. This could include growth of the client base, revenue/profit growth, growth in geographical coverage or the development of new facilities or services.

NON-BANK BROKER OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a non-bank brokerage that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. This could include growth of the client base, revenue/profit growth, growth in geographical coverage or the development of new facilities or services.

CHINESE BROKER OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a Chinese FCM that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period. This could include growth of the client base, revenue/profit growth, growth in geographical coverage or the development of new facilities or services.

EMERGING MARKET BROKER OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category will be a bank, broker or FCM based in or focused on an emerging market that can demonstrate tangible innovations and/or growth during the period.

Technology

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT

Subcategories:

- Post-trade processing

- Trade reporting

- Risk management

- Trading and execution

- Collateral management

- Market surveillance

The winners in each of these sub-categories will be technology companies that have launched new products or made enhancements to existing products during the judging period that solved a problem creatively, opened up new possibilities, or changed the way participants approach the market.

TRADING SYSTEM OF THE YEAR

Subcategories:

- Buy-side

- Sell-side

The winner in each of these sub-categories will offer a market leading trading system to the Asian market and that has been enhanced or announced a major development such as a big contract win during the period. 

Personal

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Industry votes

EXCHANGE OF THE YEAR

ISV OF THE YEAR

These categories are voted for by the market in a poll and do not require entry.

Rules and tips

The period under consideration is 1 May 2015 to 1 May 2016. All entries must focus on this period. For new products, the product or product enhancement must have been made available to the Asian market during this period. For other entries, growth or notable achievements should focus on this period. Events outside this period will be considered ancillary to the entry by judges.

Entries will only be accepted for the categories you are entering. You may enter multiple categories and the same entry may be submitted to multiple categories but you should consider the need to impress judges in that specific category when submitting your award so tailoring multiple entries of the same product or entity to each award category may be more successful than a copy and paste job.

All entries must be in English and submitted to awardsfow@fow.com by the awards deadline. The deadline is Friday 17 June.

The word count for each awards entry is a maximum of 500 words, please do not exceed this. Additional information such as press releases or brochures may be submitted but the core of the entry that will be considered by judges will be the 500 word entry.

Focus on specific and tangible achievements or innovations. The judges are asked to consider these and are required to support their decision with references to innovations or achievements. A 500 word history of the firm may make for interesting reading but will not give the judges enough information to make an award. Remember you are being judged on achievements during the period. In categories other than the Best New Product awards, this may relate to products or innovations launched outside the judging period but the growth or contract wins that you are highlighting should be during the period.

Be specific. Don’t say, "we had significant volume growth during the period"; say "we had volume growth of x%". Don’t say, "we launched a number of new initiatives"; say "we launched x,y and z and this is why they matter".

Client recommendations and comments can be submitted. The name of the client must be listed in the entry and may be verified by FOW but details of individual clients will be removed before sending entries externally to judges. FOW will respect the confidentiality of clients cited in the documents at all times.

The judges’ decision is final. The judges will be named upon publication of the shortlist, however it will not be indicated which awards they are judging. Regardless, any attempts to influence the judges will result in immediate disqualification.

The FOW Awards for Asia Gala Dinner and Trading Singapore event

The FOW Awards for Asia Gala Dinner and Trading Singapore event will be held on 22 September at the Intercontinental Hotel in Singapore.

A discount of 10% on tables of 10 is on offer until 15 July.

To book your table or for more information on the dinner or the day event, please contact Helen Seidenberg at hseidenberg@fow.com.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing you in Singapore in September!

DOWNLOAD THE ENTRY FORM BY CLICKING HERE OR TO REQUEST AND ENTRY FORM, EMAIL AWARDSFOW@FOW.COM